ANARCHICAS. 249 



FAMILY II. GOBIOIDES. 



GEN. ANARCHICAS. 



Wolf-Fish, or Sea-Wolf — Anarchicas Lu- 

 pus. In character, the wolf-fish is a voracious 

 shark, being violent, and in proportion to its size, 

 exceedingly powerful and quarrelsome. The av- 

 erage length is three feet, though there is not a 

 season passing by, that individuals are not discov- 

 ered over four feet. The skin is smooth, glassy, 

 and of the color of sheet lead ; but further south, 

 the color is a light kind of gray, bordering upon a 

 yellowish hue under the abdomen. 



In July and August, when the water is so warm 

 that they venture into the channels between the 

 islands, there is a clearer whiteness of the skin on 

 the belly than when drawn from deep water. Two 

 large pectoral fins, strongly marked, close to the 

 gills, and sharp, conical front teeth, projecting 

 beyond the lips, will first attract the notice of the 

 observer. 



Within the first, is a second row of still smaller 

 teeth, but they are rather irregularly placed, mak- 

 ing about eighteen in the upper, and two thirds as 

 many in the under jaw. 



By another prominent appendage, the wolf-fish 

 may be readily distinguished, viz ; an upright, 



